


A kiss by the river

by EldOchFlamma



Series: The House in the Forest - verse [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Finally, First Kiss, M/M, Memory Loss, Post-Fourth Shinobi War, Romance, birthday gift for the one and only Canchuon, just Hashirama and Madara going on a date, very self-indulgent fix-it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:27:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25568230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EldOchFlamma/pseuds/EldOchFlamma
Summary: Madara doesn't know who he is, or where he came from. He just knows that he wants to spend all his free time with Hashirama.
Relationships: Senju Hashirama/Uchiha Madara
Series: The House in the Forest - verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852924
Comments: 16
Kudos: 65





	A kiss by the river

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Canchuon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canchuon/gifts).



Madara was on his way to the market, walking as fast as he could without running because he was late. He was usually very punctual, but today he might have gotten a little carried away while trying to brush out his wayward hair so he would look a little bit more put together. Not that it had helped any, his hair was sticking up and falling in wild waves around his head and down to his shoulders no matter what he did to it. Then again, if it hadn’t bothered the person he was going to meet before, then surely it wouldn’t start to now?

The truth was that Madara was hurrying to his first-ever date. Since arriving at the little village close to the Naka river, he had gotten to know the inhabitants, but not really become close with anyone. That was until he met a handsome young man with warm brown eyes and the most stunning smile in the world, who had introduced himself to him as “Hashirama” just a couple days ago as Madara was about to buy some persimmons. They had then ended up running into each other every day, more or less by chance, until Hashirama had finally asked him to meet by the large gingko tree so they could have lunch together today.

At least Madara hoped they were having a date – since meeting Hashirama that first time he’d been unable to stop thinking about the man. Every time Madara had come to the market since, his eyes had been searching for the tall figure with the long, silky hair, heart skipping a beat when he found him. Hashirama was… different from everyone he knew. The people in the village were all kind without exception, but Hashirama was like sunshine. His smiles lit up his whole face, he laughed like he wanted the whole world to share his joy, and he made Madara feel like together they could do anything.

And Madara needed that kind of enthusiasm, because he carried a confusing secret: he had no memories about his previous life up until about two weeks ago. He knew his name, and that he’d grown up in this country somewhere, but other than that… there were only blanks. A part of him was certain he had brothers, but he couldn’t remember their names or faces, nor where his family might be. Being without a home, Madara had asked around and been told about an abandoned cabin in the forest, about half an hour on foot from the village. When its owner had died of old age and there was no family to pass it onto, it had been left to the elements, slowly falling into disrepair.

Upon getting approval from the village head, Madara had moved into the derelict house, aspiring to make it his new home before the upcoming winter. It wasn’t in the best of shape, but it provided him with a roof over his head, at least, and a place to store his meagre belongings, which he had funded through various little tasks he’d done for the villagers. He hoped he would be able to fix it up before the cold season hit, or else he would have to beg for shelter from one of the families in the village.

Seeing the trees clear up in the distance, Madara slowed his pace, trying to calm his wildly beating heart and slow down his breathing. He didn’t want to seem like he’d run here, because Hashirama would surely find that hilarious and tease him about it, and while Madara liked Hashirama joking with him, it also never ceased to make him nervous. Taking a deep breath and running his fingers through his hair, checking for tangles one last time, Madara brushed down the front of his yukata to smooth out any folds, then continued on his way.

Even though he was still ways off, he could already see the back of Hashirama’s head, hair gleaming in the sunlight streaming through the leaves, and felt the inside of his belly tingle. Madara had no idea how he managed to have hair that long and leave it flowing down his back freely, seemingly without it ever getting messy. As he got closer Madara noticed that Hashirama was bouncing from the tips of his toes back onto his heels, looking like he was just as nervous as Madara. Suddenly, as if he could feel the eyes on him, Hashirama turned his head into Madara’s direction, one of those impossibly bright smiles blooming on his face, and he immediately started waving.

“Madara! Over here!” he cried, then came bustling over anyway. “Hello! I’m so glad you came! Are you hungry? I already got us some onigiri and fruit and some –“

“Hello to you too,” Madara grinned, unable to hide his amusement at Hashirama’s enthusiasm. “Are you this excited to see me?”

“Of course!” Hashirama said, smile turning into a playful smirk that made Madara feel suddenly breathless. “You took your sweet time! I’m so hungry! I want to eat lunch already!”

Madara could feel his stomach drop at those words, and glared at Hashirama, hoping he wouldn’t be able to tell how disappointed he was, crossing his arms in front of his chest irritably

“Well, then you should have started eating already! How’s that my fault?” he snapped, and Hashirama had the nerve to start laughing his booming, beautiful laugh at him.

“Don’t be grumpy! I waited because I wanted to eat with you!” he told Madara, hoisting up the large basket he was carrying with one hand and pushing the other through the tight circle of Madara’s arms, linking them together with a happy grin. “Come, let’s go!”

Huffing Madara let himself be dragged along, softened somewhat by the proclamation. He listened to Hashirama ramble on about the wooden shed he’d just finished building this morning, and if he lowered his chin a little to make his hair fall into his face so the other man wouldn’t be able to see his content smile, then surely that was just the wind blowing hair over his face.

“I’ve discovered this really nice place, it was an accident, really,” Hashirama explained animatedly as they walked, gesticulating with the basket.

“Careful,” Madara mumbled, fearing for their lunch. “Do I want to know about that accident?”

He was rewarded with another bright laugh, and Hashirama squeezed his arm around Madara’s, which he still held in a stranglehold. Madara squeezed back involuntarily, then quickly looked the other way to pretend nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“It wasn’t too bad,” Hashirama proclaimed, bending down a little to look around Madara’s fluffy fringe. “So I was looking for mushrooms the other day, and –“

“Two days ago?”

Hashirama blinked at him, lips slightly parted in surprise, before he started smiling playfully once more.

“So you DO remember when I tell you things!” he cried excitedly, tugging on Madara’s arm some more.

“Of course I do! Do you think I just listen to you to get some background noise?” Madara groaned, unable to believe his friend sometimes.

But now Hashirama was beaming at him like he’d given him the best news of his life, and Madara had to do another chin tuck to make sure his awkwardly flushing cheeks were hidden. He really wasn’t in the mood for any more teasing, no matter how much enjoyment Hashirama seemed to get from it.

“Anyway, as I was saying… I was looking for mushrooms, and while I was plucking some at this really good spot I, ah… kind of lost my footing… and ended up falling through some bushes…”

Madara was doing his best to suppress his laughter, but of course Hashirama could tell from the way his shoulders started to shake.

“Don’t laugh at me!” he whined, tugging on Madara’s arm again, his bottom lip sticking out adorably. “If I hadn’t fallen down those bushes, I wouldn’t have found the perfect place for our lunch today!”

“If you think I will crawl through some bushes just for a lunch spot –“ Madara warned, but Hashirama was quickly shaking his head, explaining how he’d eventually found another way to reach that secret place which he refused to share any details about.

“I want it to be a surprise!” he insisted, so Madara huffed some more but didn’t argue about it, as part of him was really flattered Hashirama had spent so much time and effort on planning a date with him.

After a while of walking he insisted on carrying the basket with lunch, since Hashirama had been bearing the weight all this time, but Hashirama didn’t want to relinquish it, pointing out lunch had been his idea, so he ought to carry the basket. Eventually Madara haggled him down to them both carrying the basket, and he could have sworn Hashirama pouted again when he had to let go of Madara’s arm to do so. But with the basket swinging between them it was almost like they were holding hands, a thought that made Madara feel hot all over, so he tried not to linger on it too much.

Finally, they stopped at an unassuming mulberry tree, and Madara looked around curiously. He could hear flowing water clearly but couldn’t see the river at all through the thick underbrush. Hashirama took back the basket and waved at him to come closer.

“We’ve got to go down here,” he explained, pointing to a softly trodden path which didn’t look like it had been used often. “I’ll go first, so you can hold onto the roots if you need to.”

“I’ll manage just fine,” Madara insisted proudly, catching Hashirama smile just before he turned away. “Oi! Don’t make fun of me!”

“I’m not!” his cheeky companion assured him, bald-facedly lying and already making his way down the steep slope, and Madara hurried to follow after him.

He did in fact need his hands for balance, but only once, when the soft, mossy forest floor gave way unexpectedly. Bypassing a number of young trees vying for the few steaks of daylight that hit the ground, Madara eventually found himself stepping out onto a wide, flat riverbank. He sucked in a surprised breath, because Hashirama had not been exaggerating – it was beautiful here. The grass was soft under his sandals, the trees and bushes lush and green, and the merrily bubbling water reflected sunlight off its waves in bright sparkles. Turning to Hashirama after inspecting everything, Madara found him looking at him with a peculiar expression.

“What?” Madara asked, frowning – had he done something wrong again? “Is there something on my face?”

“N-nothing!” Hashirama stammered, quickly busying himself with spreading out a blanket for them to sit on, and Madara sighed.

Sometimes he wasn’t sure if Hashirama was just humouring him because he was nice and had nothing better to do, or if he actually did like his company. He bent down to help smooth out the blanket, and then sat down on one corner of it while Hashirama unpacked all the food he’d gotten them.

“It’s really nice here,” he told him, since that was what he had wanted to say before Hashirama had distracted him, and Madara wanted to let him know how grateful he was to get to spend time with him. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

Hashirama immediately looked up at him, eyes big and hopeful.

“So you like it?” he asked, seemingly out of breath, probably from badly suppressed excitement.

Nodding Madara could physically feel the force of Hashirama’s beaming smile, though he didn’t dare look up and risk turning red in front of him, perusing over lunch instead. Hashirama must have really spent a lot of money on the food, because he’d not only gotten them onigiri, as Madara had expected, but also grilled meat sticks, a variety of pickled vegetables and some fresh fruit and berries for dessert.

“You got all this…” he mumbled, feeling a little bashful about Hashirama’s generosity.

“Hm? Do… do you not like the food?” Hashirama asked from where he was busy filling a bowl with the delicacies, and he looked so worried about the prospect Madara wanted to pinch his nose just to stop him from being so crestfallen.

“No! I like all of it! It’s amazing! It’s so much food!” he quickly reassured him, meeting Hashirama’s eyes nervously. “You didn’t have to go to such lengths, you know?”

Those lovely brown eyes narrowed a little as their owner smiled, the tenderness in them making Madara feel unreasonably soft inside. Hashirama shrugged, eyes never leaving Madara’s face as he handed over the bowl he’d prepared along with a pair of chopsticks.

“I wanted to,” he said with such simple honesty there was no way to doubt him. “It’s our first date, after all!”

“O-Oh.”

Curse him, Madara thought as he felt his whole face flush red. Hashirama couldn’t just – just SAY things like that! And with such an unassuming face! Didn’t he have any decency? The word ‘date’ kept replaying in his mind, only increasing the excitement and self-consciousness warring inside his heart.

“Unless… you don’t want it to be?” Hashirama’s uncertain voice made Madara glance back up at his friend.

He seemed suddenly unsure, and his bottom lip was very close to sticking out in another pout, and Madara was not going to look at that while eating.

“Of course I want it to be one!” he snapped to hide how embarrassed he was, though his face still felt hot. “You can’t just invite people on dates and then take it back!”

“I’m not! Inviting other people, I mean, just you!” Hashirama cried, and now his face started to redden too, which was a small respite for Madara. “It’s a date. It’s definitely a date!”

“Good!”

They both sat together in awkward silence for a moment, before Hashirama burst out into relieved laughter, which Madara joined in on quickly. After they caught their breath, Hashirama scooted closer to his side of the blanket, gently nudging him with his elbow. His face seemed even more handsome to Madara now, his expression a lot more relaxed as he tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

“Sorry if I wasn’t clear enough from the start,” he murmured, low and intimate. “I wanted to have lunch alone with you so I could get to know you better. Because… I really like you.”

Madara’s hands were trembling around the bowl of food in his lap, and his face felt so hot that it might as well have been on fire. How Hashirama could just calmly sit there and say things like that – no matter how true – was beyond him. But at the same time the words released a whole cloud of butterflies in Madara’s stomach, making him feel happy and light in a way he couldn’t recall ever having felt before. Surely, if one could be alive and in paradise at the same time, it must feel something like this.

“I’m, uhm,” Madara started, then broke off and bit his bottom lip, frustrated over how his voice cracked. “I…”

The words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat, and no matter how much he wanted to say them, to tell Hashirama how he felt, they refused to come out. So Madara reached out shyly and placed his hand over Hashirama’s, which was resting on the blanket between them, squeezing his fingers gently. When he looked up at his friend – boyfriend? – those pretty brown eyes were shining with affection, and Hashirama was smiling at him in a way that made Madara’s toes curl in pleasure. He turned his hand so his palm faced upwards, allowing their fingers to link together and making Madara’s breath hitch, and then he boldly leaned in to press a kiss against Madara’s cheek.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Hashirama reassured him, tone soft and understanding. “You’re here with me, and that’s all I had hoped for. Let’s eat first, alright?”

Madara squeezed Hashirama’s hand tightly, nodding his head, relieved that Hashirama didn’t mind his inability to articulate his feelings immediately, and hoped he was getting the message across anyway. The way Hashirama squeezed back made him believe that he could have succeeded, and so Madara managed to calm his over-excited nerves enough to start eating. The little pickled radishes and cucumbers were sweet and sour in just the right way, and the grilled chicken tender and spicy, just how he liked it best. Hashirama was ploughing through onigiri at a rate that should not have been possible, and it made Madara chuckle.

“Slow down, you’ll make yourself sick,” he teased, and Hashirama nearly choked on half a rice ball which he had been in the process of inhaling.

“Sowwy,” he gasped, hiding his mouth behind his palm until he’d swallowed. “I’m just really hungry! I didn’t have any breakfast today, because a cat stole my leftover grilled fish from last night.”

And if that wasn’t so typical of Hashirama. Madara snorted, though he did feel for him. He’d woken up without any idea how he was going to feed himself that day quite often during the previous weeks. And with how much effort Hashirama had put into this shared lunch, Madara would make sure he returned the favour soon. Maybe once he’d finished cleaning up the main room of his house, he could invite Hashirama over, cook for him… maybe even spend the whole day with him…

After finishing most of their lunch and deciding to keep the rest for later, Hashirama challenged him to a game of skipping rocks. Madara couldn’t remember ever having tried that before, but when Hashirama showed him how to recognise the right kind of pebbles, and what angle to best use to make them jump, he easily got the hang of it. They laughed and bickered over who had thrown their stone the furthest, and then ended up stumbling on the slippery riverbank, landing in the water with a loud splash. Still laughing they shed their clothes to let them dry in the sun and seeing as the weather was hot enough for a swim, they raced each other across to the other side of the river and back a couple times.

A good while later, now tired and satisfied, they climbed back out onto the soft grass with relieved groans, and Hashirama stretched out his arms and legs like a starfish, looking like he would not be made to move from his resting spot any time soon. Smiling down at him fondly, Madara was still busy wringing water out of his hair, before deciding to see if he could find an even better spot a little further in the shade of the trees. There was a massive maple standing by the river bank, which looked like it must be a century old at least. Madara placed his hand on its bark for balance as he walked into the forest and was suddenly overwhelmed by a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Where the forest had seemed inviting before, it loomed over him now, dark and oppressive, and all Madara wanted to do was run – run and run, to the river, to warn – Hashirama? Shaking his head in confusion he looked around, finding nothing that would warrant such a feeling. His fingers slipped over a differently-textured spot on the bark, and upon looking closer he could see that someone had carved a symbol into it – something that looked like an uchiwa fan. Over the years it had grown with the tree, but still retained its round shape, and Madara felt peculiar looking at it. Like he should remember it but couldn’t.

“Madara? Where did you go? Are you peeing?” Hashirama’s voice called out for him, effectively distracting Madara from his confusion.

“What kind of question is that?” Madara cried, stumbling back into the sunlight, where Hashirama was sitting up now turned towards him, his long, wet hair plastered against his back and shoulders. “Who asks something like that?”

“Well, you were suddenly gone, so I figured you wanted to pee in private,” Hashirama explained with playful seriousness, then frowned. “Are you alright?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?” Madara lied, settling down on the grass next to him, and keeping his eyes everywhere but on his companion’s face.

He didn’t want Hashirama to think he was a weirdo, getting scared so easily over nothing. Not when they’d had such a nice afternoon, and he’d much rather spend his time watching the water droplets still clinging to Hashirama’s toned chest and stomach slowly make their way down his tanned skin.

“Hey,” Hashirama murmured, taking Madara’s hand in his and lacing their fingers together again. “Madara, look at me?”

Madara did so hesitantly, looking up into the gentle eyes he adored so much, finding them scanning his face with an unexpected intensity.

“I can tell when you’re uncomfortable,” he continued on, just as softly. “I don’t know how, but… it feels like I’ve known you forever.”

He laughed a little, looking unbearably lovely with his slightly tousled, drying hair and the rosy, sun-kissed flush to his cheeks.

“Me too,” Madara admitted, allowing himself to shift a bit closer so their shoulders were almost touching. “I’m fine, though. I just… got a strange vibe from the forest behind us. But out here, it’s fine!”

He didn’t add that it was fine mostly because he was with Hashirama now, who followed his example and bridged the gap between them, so their thighs were resting against one another, and Madara could feel the silky strands of his hair brush against his arm. Hashirama leaned to the side a little, until his cheek laid on Madara’s shoulder, and simply stayed like that, like Madara’s heart wasn’t beating so loudly the fishes in the river must be able to hear it, having frozen up like a statue in fear of upsetting the precious weight on him.

“I got a weird vibe too,” Hashirama eventually admitted, voice having a faraway quality, like he was trying to make sense of something. “But before, when we were in the river. Like… like I was about to lose you, and I was so scared.”

He squeezed Madara’s hand harder, his big, warm palm making Madara feel protected, even though it was Hashirama who was clearly looking for reassurance. Taking a deep breath Madara rested his cheek on Hashirama’s soft hair, allowing himself for the first time to indulge in his scent. He knew Hashirama smelled nice, a little like a forest really, but that combined with his warm skin just made Madara yearn for him. He wanted to be closer to him, wanted that hand in his and those arms around him, wanted all of Hashirama’s sunshine smiles for himself. Hashirama seemed happy to feel Madara’s head against his, because he snuggled against him harder, leaning more of his weight on him.

“I don’t want to lose you, Madara,” Hashirama whispered against his shoulder, and even though Madara didn’t quite know what he meant, there was an answering ache inside him that felt soul-deep.

“You’re not going to lose me,” he promised him, once again struggling with voicing his thoughts, but forcing himself to express them to soothe the other man. “We… we could just meet up again tomorrow if you want. I’ll make us lunch, or dinner. Where do you live?”

Surprisingly Hashirama started squirming a little upon being asked that question. He even lifted his head, which Madara tried very hard not to be disappointed about, because now their faces were really close instead, and he could see the little golden specks in Hashirama’s irises.

“Uh… actually… I don’t really have a place…” Hashirama mumbled awkwardly, averting his eyes, his tone getting lower and lower. “I’ve…. only recently come here, and I’ve been… staying here and there… in the forest…”

“You’ve been sleeping out in the forest?” Madara’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, for surely he must have heard wrong. “Just like that?”

The slightly hunted look in Hashirama’s eyes confirmed his assumption, and Madara could only shake his head, both at his daring and the madness of it.

“Then how about this – you’ve done wood work before, right?” he asked, and when Hashirama nodded: “I’m renovating a little house not too far from the village. It’s been vacant for a while, but it’s definitely big enough for two. So, if you wanted to, you could help me fix it up and…”

“M-Madara!” Hashirama gasped in surprise, effectively interrupting him with wide round eyes that looked adorably hopeful and eager. “Are… are you asking me to move in with you? We’ve only been on one date!”

Flushing bright red at the insinuation, Madara wanted to hide his face as much as he wanted to jump Hashirama and shake him for suggesting something shocking! He was just being practical!

“It makes sense!” he cried, turning his face away instead. “You can’t just sleep in the forest! If we work on it together, the house will definitely be patched up by winter, so we won’t freeze to death! And – and we’ll also save money if we cook together and hunt together and –“

With a sound that could only be described as a squeal of delight, Hashirama threw himself at him, tackling Madara into the grass and wrapping him up in a bear hug. Madara went down with a shout, but after regaining his bearings he reached around Hashirama’s back slowly, returning the embrace. Soft hair was slipping between his fingers and spreading in long, nice-smelling strands across his face, and Hashirama’s warm skin was plastered against him wonderfully. His weight was comforting, and the way his face was tucked in the crook of Madara’s neck was soothing, and Madara realised he really didn’t want this moment to ever end.

“I’d love to move in with you, Madara,” Hashirama murmured against his neck, making him shiver involuntarily. “I – I want to spend every day with you.”

Blushing something fierce over Hashirama’s shoulder, Madara allowed himself to stroke his hands up and down the wide back, marvelling at the softness of Hashirama’s skin, and wondering if he would get to hold him like this more often in the future.

“Then we better get your things and I’ll show you the house,” he suggested breathlessly, though he made no effort to move.

Eventually Hashirama lifted his head, but only enough so Madara could see that his expressive eyes were misty with unshed tears of happiness. Then he leaned in close, and Madara’s breath caught, but he did nothing to dissuade Hashirama from pressing their lips together for the first time. It didn’t take Madara more than this one tender kiss shared between them to know that he had completely and irrevocably fallen in love with Hashirama.

They didn’t get up and moving for a long while after.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a birthday gift to my wonderful Canchuon, who has unfailingly supported and encouraged all my crazy AU ideas. Thank you so, so much! Without your kind words and pep talks I don't think I would have posted any of my fics at all.


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